Sisseton native part of SDSU team enjoying NIT success

March 21, 2007|By American News Sports Staff

Courtney Grimsrud worked hard to earn academic and athletic success during her days at Sisseton High School. That journey of classroom and sports success continues at South Dakota State in Brookings for Grimsrud. The 6-foot-2 junior is a starter and tri-captain for the women's basketball team at SDSU, where she has a 3.95 grade point average in biology. Grimsrud and the Jackrabbits (24-5) have advanced to the third round of the Division I Women's National Invitational Tournament after SDSU beat Illinois State 61-48 at Frost Arena in front of 5,719 fans Saturday. The Jacks will play the Indiana Hoosiers (19-13) at 7 p.m. Thursday in Brookings. “The tickets went on sale at 1 (p.m. Monday) and the game was sold out by five,” said Grimsrud. “The crowd was amazing Saturday night. It was loud and exciting in there. When your crowd is that big, it can intimidate the other team.” Grimsrud said she and her teammates were thrilled to make the WNIT 48-team field as well as getting a first-round bye and being able to host the first two games. Sixteen teams remain, with the quarterfinals this weekend (the SDSU-Indiana winner will play the Oregon-Wyoming winner). The semifinals will be next week and the championship game at 2 p.m. March 31. “It has been an amazing experience so far,” Grimsrud said. “Hopefully, we can keep it going.” Grimsrud comes from an athletic family. Her brother Casey Grimsrud redshirted last year for the Northern State football team. He will be a freshman quarterback for the Wolves in the fall. This season for the Jacks, Grimsrud is averaging 7.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. She is the team leader in blocked shots with 45. Those numbers led Grimsrud to being named the all-Division I Independent defensive player of the year. Grimsrud was excited about the prestigious honor, but even more excited for fellow team members who also won awards. “I have always been more of a defensive player, especially here in college,” Grimsrud explained. “It is something coach (Aaron Johnston) has really been stressing. Things are not always going to go your way (offensively), but you can always dig down and put your heart into defense.” In her four years of high school varsity basketball, Grimsrud was part of coach Cal Schubert's Sisseton teams that compiled an 89-7 record. Sisseton won State A titles in 2000, 2001 and 2004, and was state runner-up in 2003. As a senior, Grimsrud was the South Dakota Miss Basketball. Grimsrud started playing at South Dakota State when the Jacks began their Division I journey in 2004. In the past three seasons, the Jackrabbits are 64-21 overall and 47-21 against Division I foes. Grimsrud has played in 72 of those 85 games, and has started every game this season. She is already in the top 10 at SDSU for career blocks with 75. The future continues to look bright for the Jacks next season with players like Grimsrud returning. They will continue their goal of qualifying for the 2008 WNIT in her senior season. The Jacks will not be eligible for the NCAA Division I tourney until the 2008-09 season. “We have only one senior, Megan Vogel, but she is our powerhouse,” said Grimsrud. “She is our go-to player. She really gets the team going, and it is going to be hard to replace her next year. Hopefully, we can keep it going next year as well.” The Jackrabbits are winning with women from the Midwest. SDSU has five players each from South Dakota and Minnesota, and three players from Wisconsin. One of the South Dakota players is freshman Ketty Cornemann; her older brother, Cale Cornemann, is a freshman wrestler for Northern State. Another SDSU player, freshman Abby Kratovil of Martin, has a brother, Cole Kratovil, who is sophomore men's basketball player for the Wolves. “It really shows that here in the Midwest, we can play with the big teams no matter where they are from,” said Grimsrud. “The kind of people that we have in the Midwest are going to work and try to get the job done no matter what the obstacles are. Our coaches and our families have instilled in us that we can do any job if we set our minds to it.”